When you’re starting a business, you have a plethora of tasks to tackle. One of the more fun and creative tasks is designing your company logo. However, starting a business also takes a toll on your wallet, so you need to find ways to keep your expenses to a minimum. Fortunately, there are many tools online that allow you to create a logo instantly and for free!
Here you’ll find some handy tips to make a free logo for your company that will wow your customers.
1. Know Your Customers
You’re going to want a logo that appeals to your target customers, so you need to start by building a profile of your ideal customer. Demographics are certainly important, but you also need to understand their needs and wants and how your product meets their needs. If you’re just getting started, you’ll have to get this information by doing some market research. Don’t make assumptions about your customers – you need real information about them.
You can research who the customers are in your industry, but you also need to go to the source. You can use online surveys to find out from potential customers what kind of people will buy your product and to gather specific information about them.
If you’ve already started making sales, great! You can interview your current customers to find out why they chose to purchase from you, how your product meets their specific needs, and their demographic profile.
2. Understand Your Competition
You should do some research about your competition to find out how they portray their companies with their logo and in their marketing. You want to understand their brand identities and how they differentiate themselves. Your goal is to figure out your own differentiator and how you can make your brand and your logo stand out. Your differentiator also called a competitive advantage, maybe customer service, quality, convenience, or something else that you do that can make customers choose your company over the competition.
3. Create a Brand Identity
Now, with the information you learned from researching your customers and your competition, you can create your own brand identity. Your brand needs to appeal to your target customers and also reflect your differentiator. Consider how your brand can reflect how you’re meeting your customers’ needs and wants and why they should choose your company over another.
Your logo needs to encompass that brand identity, so you’ll need to select design elements that fit your identity.
4. Know the Characteristics of a Good Logo
Now, you’ll want to learn the nuts and bolts of a good logo. There are several elements that experts agree are the keys to an effective logo.
- Simplicity
Your logo needs to make an impression with just a glance, and a complex logo can generally not do that because no one is going to examine a logo in detail. Using only a few clear elements and words can convey your message in just a second or two.
- Make it memorable
Consider logos like Nike, Apple, and Google. You can picture them as soon as you hear the name. Your logo needs to be simple, but also interesting enough that it will stick in the minds of your target customers.
- Colors
It’s well known that colors evoke certain reactions. An article by the University of Southern California sites a study that showed that in branding, color contributes 90% of the information that forms a decision. You’ll want to choose colors that evoke the reaction that you want your customers to have. For example, red can increase appetite or increase passion and intensity. Blue, on the other hand, evokes calmness and trust.
Do a little homework to find the color scheme that best fits your brand identity.
Your logo will also likely have contrasting colors or shades. Graphic design company Canva recommends using analogous colors, which are colors that are close together on the color wheel. Yellow and green are one example.
- Font
Finally, the font you choose should be simple and easy to read and fit well with the other elements of your logo. This will take some experimentation. Put together different versions of your logo with your design elements and colors, using different fonts to find the one that seems to be the best fit, and that stands out.
5. Find a Free Logo Design Provider
Now it’s time to go shopping! If you Google “free logo maker” you’ll find a host of providers to choose from. You may want to look for the ones that offer you the most design options and customizability. On the other hand, you could choose a company like Adobe Express that uses AI to generate logos based on information about your business. It will give you options to choose from so that you can choose the one that best fits your brand identity.
6. Get Input
Once you have a few options, find out what people think. You can ask colleagues, employees, or family and friends. You could even post an online survey to let your target customers choose. That would also give your company some online exposure as a bonus! Whomever you consult, ask them about the impression that your logo makes and if they will remember it.
7. Create Your Marketing Materials
Once you have your logo, you’ll want to use it everywhere you can to start to build your brand awareness. Put in on your business cards, letterhead, and any other physical marketing materials you create. Make it prominent on your website and use it in all your digital ads. If you have a physical location, put it on your external signs and include it in your internal décor.
In Closing
A logo is often part of the first impression that people will have of your company, so don’t take its design lightly. Spend some time going through the steps discussed, and create several versions to choose from. Getting input from others can be invaluable, so don’t get so set on one design that you’re not open to feedback.
It’s likely that you’ll be using the logo for the life of your business, so you want to make it great. Once you have it in place, you can hit the ground running and start building your brand awareness and making some money!
